Currently, there are a number of technologies that create user confusion. More importantly, however, there are opportunities to solve that confusion. Computer and communication networks can provide collaboration services which allow for connections at a higher level of semantics. Roles and associations can be defined which allow connections without knowledge of the address of particular endpoint devices. For example, a product expert, having a defined role, can be associated with a number of people. A salesperson in conference with a customer can request that the system conference having a product expert answer questions without requiring them to know the person assigned to the task or the address of the device which they are currently using. Similarly, groups of devices can be associated. Devices can also be associated with a user and with the function that they fulfill for that user. For example, a user can instruct that a call be moved to their desk phone from the current device which it is on. The system can be aware of the physical address of the desk phone and the user is not required to provide that information.
Another technology is the ability of user devices to connect to multiple networks. In one example, a user cellphone connects to both a private network of their employer and to a public network such as in a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) model. A user can maintain one device and wish to use it for all their communication needs. As the user moves between employers, they can retain the same device and use it on the new employer's network.
The interoperation of these two technologies leads to user confusion. For example, a salesperson is talking to a customer and wishes to have a product expert join the conversation. The private network has defined the role of the product expert while the public network, having no relation to the employer's products, has no knowledge of this role. If the salesperson places this call on the employer's private network then they can be able to initiate the required conference. If, however, the call has been placed on the public network, then this option will not be available. The user can perceive, in both cases, that they are in a conference with a customer but will face confusion as to why they can sometimes access product experts and sometimes they cannot. Thus, the capability of allowing the roles and associations provided by all available networks to seamless interwork on a given call would be desirable but currently is not available.
An Internet Multimedia System (IMS) is being developed to deal with the issue of confusion between controllers in autonomous networks. Protocols have been set up so that calls originated in one autonomous zone can have their control signals routed back to the user's home zone. Protocols have been set up for the cooperation of the autonomous controllers in each zone to handle individual calls. The remote controller can operate at the Proxy-Call Session Control Function (P-CSCF) and the home controller can operate as the Serving-Call Session Control Function (S-CSCF). The home controller can offer features to the user. It can respond to home controller commands to set up network connections. This arrangement among the controllers can localize control and can eliminate ambiguities.
The IMS network is limited in addressing the ambiguity of control issues because it is designed for the user to obtain a single set of features provided by their home network. No matter where a user roams in the world, the user can receive features from their home network. However, there will be many cases in which this vision is not accurate. A user can have multiple identities and wish to receive services based on those identities. An example of this is a BYOD model in which a user can be expected to provide their telephone, computer, etc. for work. The model is commonly seen as being one in which the telephone can be at home on either a work or private personal proxy in order to receive the services appropriate for each role. The device can receive one set of features or the other. Nevertheless, IMS does not account for obtaining features spanning two or more networks regarding a single call. Furthermore, IMS is a large and costly system which is only now in its first stages of deployment. IMS requires new equipment and business arrangements between providers especially between public and private providers.
A need therefore exists for a system for seamless interworking of call control between autonomous systems that overcome those issues described above. These, as well as other related advantages, will be described in the present disclosure.